Some prior art arrangements for a backrest for the operator or for the passenger riding in tandem on a motorcycle employ sectional seats that may be partially folded or tilted to provide a backrest; some employ a padded luggage carrier that may be pivoted to an inclined position to provide a backrest; some provide a backrest supported by vertically crisscrossing links, one of which is extensible; and none provide a dual position backrest for passenger or rider without complicated apparatus or without requiring adjustments in the apparatus. None employ a backrest selectively swingable to either of two positions with a simple mounting to the vertical uprights of a sissy bar by means of only two laterally spaced pivot connections.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a backrest device for use on a motorcycle having a single seat for two riders and a sissy bar to which laterally spaced arms of the backrest device are pivotally connected.
Another object of the invention is that the backrest device can be pivotally folded against the sissy bar to provide a backrest for a tandem riding passenger, or pivotally extended to provide a backrest for an operator.